The frantic Friday rush after same-sex marriages

Now that it is over, everyone can admit it — the Friday afternoon decision to allow same-sex marriages took nearly everyone by surprise.

Some city and county agencies got an e-mail around 2:45 p.m. from the U.S. Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals saying that it would have an announcement soon. But Matt Dorsey, spokesman for the city attorney, said most thought the statement would simply repeat that the stay would be lifted in 25 days.

“There was one lawyer in our office who said, ‘This is it. Courts are closed back east and they are going to push the train out of the station,’” Dorsey said.

Of course, that’s what happened.

“All of a sudden, my phone blew up,” said Carmen Chu, the city’s assessor-recorder, the office that issues the marriage licenses.
Chu already had a plan; she just put it into action sooner than expected. City Hall stayed open until 8 p.m. on Friday (even with short notice, 55 couples were married the first day) and both Saturday and Sunday. Over three days, her office issued 563 marriage licenses.

But that didn’t mean there weren’t some logistical challenges. As pleased as they were about the decision, there was a strong feeling in San Francisco that the first couple to be married should be Berkeley residents Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, who were part of the lawsuit that challenged Proposition 8.

So if Perry and Stier were going to be the first married couple, they had to get to City Hall immediately.

“I was calling people and saying, ‘Just get down here. I don’t have time to return any calls,’” Dorsey said.

They made it in time, providing a perfect photo and sound bite for the issue.